LCD Displays Likely Candidate for Apple’s $3.9 Billion Investment

Apple’s first quarter fiscal year 2011 financial results conference call didn’t feature many surprises, but one tidbit from COO Tim Cook alluded to a $3.9 billion investment in “long-term commitments with three companies,” which many are speculating could be the LCD displays used in the company’s mobile products.

MacRumors is reporting that LCD displays are being singled out as the most likely candidate for a $3.9 billion investment Apple has made with three manufacturers -- although don’t look for confirmation from Cupertino, since COO Tim Cook claims the company doesn’t want to disclose the details for fear the competition will find out.

Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer outlined the $3.9 billion investment during his opening statements, which disclosed that the agreements began in both the September and December quarters.

"During the September and December quarters, we executed long-term supply agreements with three vendors through which we expect to spend a total of approximately $3.9 billion in inventory component prepayment and capital expenditures over a two-year period,” Oppenheimer revealed. “We made approximately $650 million in payments under these agreements in the December quarter, and anticipate making $1.05 billion in payments in the March quarter.”

iPad supplies were initially constrained due to “limited production of its LCD displays” with LG, according to MacRumors, and the company’s CEO confirmed that fact last summer. It would appear that Apple, realizing that they had to step up and do something about the situation, took action later in the year to get things back on track.

MacRumors notes that rumors back in December indicated that Apple “was investing $1.2 billion with Toshiba and Sharp separately,” although Toshiba went out of their way to deny a deal was in place. The Sharp rumor, meanwhile, specifically mentioned “small to midsize LCDs, with Apple Inc. slated to purchase bulk of the output for its iPhone” -- although the midsize display is more likely to be for the iPad.

Whatever the case may be, iPad demand only continues to grow, and with rumors of a follow-up model imminent, the three mysterious manufacturers will have to be on top of their game to meet the needs of Apple’s voracious customer base.